Newbridge Winter Solstice Festival — A favourite among vikings!

The village of Newbridge is set to come alive this Saturday with the return of the highly anticipated Winter Solstice Festival.

“Newbridge is my favourite!” says Mitch Luke, a founding member of the historical reenactment group, Iron Guard, who’ll be battling it out as vikings on Saturday.

“There’s a number of reenacting groups going, and we all love it — it’s a real highlight to go to.”

Originally, for Mitch the hobby of reenacting seemed a little peculiar, but his opinion quickly changed when he joined his nephew at an event.

“My nephew wanted to do some reenacting, so I went along to make sure he got treated fairly,” says Mitch.

“I always thought it was big boys wanting to run around and play with swords… I quickly realised that it’s a lot more than that — it’s about the history, making your own clothes, learning skills, making things out of steel, wood, leather –- and I found it was a fabulous lifestyle.” 

One of the most rewarding parts of Mitch’s reenacting journey has been the opportunity to share it with his family.

“I found it extremely good for family life — you’re bonding around an open fire, rather than the glow of tv, playing video games or something.”

But it’s not just the connection with family, it’s the close-knit relationships you create with everyone else too, Mitch says.

“You form a lot of bonds – it’s an extended family. It made it incredibly difficult during COVID, because we didn’t see each other for about two years, and it was like not seeing a family member.”

For someone who didn’t initially see the charm, Mitch has now been taking part in reenactments for over 20 years and is well-known within the community.

“I tried to retire, but they won’t let me. They’re even sending me to Europe next year for jousting. For a clown, which is what I am, that’s pretty good!”

For those interested in attending, the Newbridge Winter Solstice Festival gets underway from 12pm with Viking battles, dancers, circus performers, live music, artisan markets,hearty winter food and all culminates with the burning of the wickerman bonfire!  And, arguably the best part, all it costs is a small donation at the gate!

“People can look forward to the misbehaviour of reenactors. We generally mill around the audiences, and answer any questions,” adds Mitch.

“And because it’s such an intimate event we get to associate a lot with the audience, whereas when you're standing in an audience of 10,000-plus people you don’t get that chance.”